Do You Have What it Takes to Run a Non-Employer Business?

 

Non-employer businesses have been a big part of American business for many a decade. And even with the employee-rich startup culture in boom, non-employer businesses are still on the rise.

So is this something you should be looking into in your own business pursuits? It’s important that you understand a little more about how this part of American business operates. Take a look at these facts. They’ll help you get a sense of the bigger picture when it comes to this type of business.

What’s a non-employer business?

A non-employer business is actually something most of us is familiar with. It’s just that we don’t often use that term to describe the business. Basically, the owner of the business in question doesn’t employ anyone except themselves. They’re self-employed and are going at this pursuit solo. Some may say that a more accurate term would be a non-employee business. But the business owner doesn’t employ anyone, so the non-employer term definitely makes sense.

 

The data

Non-employer businesses are hardly a minority of businesses, believe it or not. When you think about it, this makes a certain kind of sense. After all, it is markedly easier to start one of these businesses than it is to get something going with employees. If you count up all the businesses in America, then you’re going to find that most businesses are non-employer businesses. The United States Census Bureau found that non-employer businesses made up the majority of all businesses in America. In 2013 it was estimated that for every thousand residents in the country, there were 72 non-employer businesses owners.

 

However, the same study also shows that these businesses only make up a very small portion of the country’s overall business revenue. After all, most of these businesses are likely to be the part-time pursuits of self-employed people. They may even have another full-time job for a regular business. It’s estimated that just under 4% of America’s business revenue generates from non-employer businesses.

 

If you’re interested…

Non-employer businesses can work really well for people interested in going into business solo. As long as you’re not expecting to run some crazily complex operation, not having employees to look after can work to your benefit. And there are certainly plenty of resources available to you if you need help. The IRA will be able to talk to you about certain tax breaks you’d be eligible for. Companies like Office Evolution can offer you office solutions suited to your business model. The SBA will also have resources for businesses that don’t require employees.

 

 

The costs saved by going at a business in this fashion are really remarkable. The average capital expenditure of a small business with ten or so employees exceeds $150,000. Many non–employer businesses will only spend between $3,000 and $5,000. However, it’s important to remember where a lot of those extra costs go. They go towards employees who, presumably, end up bringing in more in revenue. So you have to be sure that your business can make the profits you need without hiring the help of part- or full-time employees.

A Simple Guide To A Better Work Environment!

It’s hard to run a business if your office is an unhappy place to work in. So, I’ve come up with a few ways to help you create a better work environment:

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(Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/fQ6BCB)

Social Media

Time and time again we’ve spoken about how important social media is to a business. And, believe it or not, it can make your business a much happier place to work. You can turn to social media as a means for employees to communicate with one another. As we all know, communication is key in the workplace. Create groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, for employees of your business only. It gets everyone together in a social group and they can chat about things together. You’re throwing back to the early days of social media here. Back when it was all about talking to people, connecting with one another. Your employees can interact and their bonds will strengthen. It’s a simple way for people to communicate when they’re not in the office.

Some companies take things a step further than this and create a social network. Creating an in-house social network means you’re closed off from the outer world. It’s all about your business now. The concept is the same as creating groups on other social networking sites. You’re still encouraging interaction, but you can do it via your own network. This ensures more privacy and can be a bit more exciting for staff too. No one else can access your social network, so it’s like they’re members of an exclusive group.

The great idea is to invite new employees to your social media groups before they start work. It gives them a chance to get to know people in the office and have a chat before joining. This means they should fit in a lot better, and work is a far happier place for them. When everyone is talking outside of work, using social media, it leads to a better workplace. People feel more comfortable around one another, it’s like you’re working with friends. As a result, your business is a much happier place to work.

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(Photo: https://flic.kr/p/o4ZHuD)

 

Team Building Activities

Another way your business can become happier is to take a step back from the usual working routine. Following the same pattern, over and over again, can lead to stress. When workers are stressed, your office becomes a horrible place to work in. So, sometimes you have to break the mould and do something different to the norm. Take a break from your usual routine and do other things with your employees.

The best idea is to set aside days, throughout the year, where you don’t have a day’s work. Instead, you devote the day to team building activities. This is brilliant because it gives everyone a rest from their busy schedule, but can also benefit your business. If you’re doing team building activities, you’re working on improving how everyone works together. A better functioning team can lead to a much more successful business. It’s a much better option than just giving everyone a day off now and then; you’re getting something out of it.

 

These activities can be done in the office or somewhere else. You might find it a good idea to have half a day’s work followed by team building activities in the office. This saves you taking too many full days out of your work schedule. But, if you do want to have a full day off, I’d recommend you make things interesting. Think about leaving the office and doing some team bonding elsewhere. There are plenty of fun activities that are great to get your team closer together, and feeling happier. Things like paintball or white water rafting are fun activities that get people working as a team. Doing things like this will strengthen the bond between you and all your employees. As a result, your office will start to have a much better working environment.

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(pixabay: https://goo.gl/W678uq)

Care For Your Employees

The simplest way to make your workplace happier is to care for your employees. Show them that you care for them, and they’ll feel a lot happier. It’s such a simple concept to follow. Think about it, you feel much happier when you know that there’s someone that cares about you. Whereas, when you don’t feel appreciated, or cared for, it can get you down. As the manager, it’s your job to care for your staff and show them that you do.

One of the best ways to care for your employees is to offer them support and assistance. There are employee assistance and support programmes that can help you do this. If you provide these programmes to your staff, it shows that you care. It shows you’re willing to pay to get them help and support if they’re feeling down or stressed out. Then, these assistance programmes can help them get back to their best, and feeling happier again.

As well as offering support programmes, you can also offer private support. If you feel like someone is unhappy, call them into your office and talk about it. Again, this shows that you care about your staff. People will see you take the time out to help out employees in need and they’ll like you for it. It will make them happier because they know that if they’re ever stressed out, they can come to you. The simple fact of the matter is that a workplace is better when the boss cares for their employees. If they don’t, the whole office becomes a dark and gloomy place to work. No one will smile and it will create a horrible atmosphere. When this happens, your business as a whole can suffer. Happy employees are crucial if you want to have a positive work environment in the office.

 

After reading this, you can now see how to make your business a more enjoyable place to work. Take advantage of social media and use it to get people communicating and interacting more. This leads to a much more social business. Use team building activities to bring everyone closer and strengthen their bond. And of course, care for your staff and it will put a smile on their faces.

Recruiting With Social Media — 35 Tips for LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook

The thing I love about other people’s tips is that you invariably uncover ideas you’re not already implementing yourself. That’s why I wanted to share this new infographic with you. Whilst not agreeing with every single tip, the vast majority resonate as things I’ve seen successful social media recruiters incorporating into their social media strategies.

I was certainly intrigued to see that tweets with links front-loaded in the tweet outperform others. One to experiment with in the recruiting space perhaps? Whilst the suggestion to seed your blog posts in LinkedIn groups is one I would suggest should be done sparingly. Certainly this can drive relevant candidate traffic for recruiters, but it’s a fine line between being helpful and spammy in a LinkedIn group (and definitely avoid placing job advert links in the main discussion area of LinkedIn groups – that’s what the “jobs” tab is there for in each group, but often I see desperate recruiters cluttering up the discussion boards with misplaced adverts).

Apart from social media, recruitment specialists like EmploySee may be very helpful in your search for the right job candidates.

How about you? Which of these tips resonate as things that have worked for you? What other ideas would you add to the mix? Please feel free to comment below…

Digital First Impressions Make or Break Your Job Search [Infographic]

Most job seekers are aware that a very large majority of companies now use social media to recruit and research potential candidates… Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Twitter (at least).

However, few understand how to best leverage social networking during a successful job search. Check out this infographic by Jobvite for all you need to know about a positive social media presence; a digital first impression that can get you hired… or not.

Ben Martin, Social Media, Recruitment

Have you had first hand experience? Did you get hired from your digital presence alone?

Say hello and drop your comments below.

Connect with me on Twitter: Ben Martin

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Hiring of interns is to rise in 2013

Internships are becoming increasingly important in the transition from college to a career. According to a recent survey by Internships.com, 53% of companies plan to hire more interns in 2013 than they did in 2012.

This informative infographic details current trends in internships, and their positive impact on young professionals beginning their careers.

Throw out the old job title and stand out from the crowd

The 2013 job market is a changing commodity. It is imperative that up-and-coming students and job seekers know how to truly play up their best assets — one of which nearly always is to highlight their understanding of current digital life. Job opportunities are out there, but they aren’t always as simple as applying with a Times New Roman resume from eras past. Connections, digital skills, and the willingness to engage others will tilt the odds in your favor.

Stand out from the swarms of similar candidates, here are some tips to help you:

1. An Interactive Resume: Your resumes should have two QR codes, the first taking hiring managers to an introductory video of you demonstrating your energy and industry knowledge, and the second taking them to a video of your best reference saying how great you are.

2. A Professional “Me” site: This site serves as your digital portfolio containing all of your best work and thus ensuring that hiring managers who search for you on the web find the “best” you.

3. A Professional Blog: You create a blog about a key topic in your industry that will showcase the skills your resume says you have, demonstrate your knowledge of your field, raise your profile in your industry (because you’ll be interviewing the top players), and build your professional network as more and more of the key people hear from and/or about you.

4. A Social Media Marketing Campaign: This campaign promotes you because you follow and interact professionally with the key players in the field.

5. An Informational Interview Campaign: In the final step, you ask the biggest players in your industry for an interview to pick their brains and get their advice on your next career steps. This cements your relationship with them and creates over time a powerful network of powerful people who know you by name, respect your work, and will plug you into the “hidden jobs” market.

 

via Jason Schmitt: Social Media Reels in Job Opportunities.

Employers are screening your online presence.

More and more companies are using social media as a first line screening process to filter the applicants. With this in mind you need to focus on creating the right digital footprint. Your online presence speaks for you before you get a chance to say a word yourself in an interview.